Sadly, Sam began his return trip to Raleigh early this morning. He will fly from Florence to Paris to Detroit, and finally Raleigh. I will be lonely without him the next few days. I’m especially grateful for his sacrifice of time to create content for this blog almost every night! While I readied my canvas for the next days’ painting(s), he wrote about the day, created the photo galleries, patiently waited for an internet connection, and so on. It’s been such a gift to share our experiences with you thru his blog efforts. Thank you Sam and safe, safe travels home!

Good news: The owner of our Hotel Villa Scacciapensieri, Michela Nardi, has commissioned me to paint a 30 x 40 in. canvas looking out at the Tuscan landscape! When she asked me to consider doing this painting I just about fell over. What a wonderful opportunity! I began her painting early this morning – setting up my easel on the property and looking out over the Cypress trees and villas to the hills beyond. It went really smoothly as I’ve already painted this view once before (on Monday), and even made a couple of improvements. Please check out the canvas in the photo gallery.

In the afternoon, I drove north towards Vagliagli, and found a WIDE OPEN landscape of several villas, vineyards, and lots of sky. Thunderstorm clouds were forming so I didn’t waste any time and got to work quickly while the skies were still blue. I feared rain, but eventually, the clouds passed and the afternoon brought clear, bright light. Please see this canvas in the photo gallery also!

Tomorrow morning I’ll be finishing Michele’s painting here at the villa, and then packing up, checking out, and driving to the coast. I’m excited to see the Ligurian coast and share my impressions with you! Good night and God’s sweet blessings, Sharon